Portable cleaning tool for electrical conductors

ABSTRACT

A portable cleaning tool for stripping an electrical conductor includes a pair of pivotably interconnected support members each having a drive shaft projecting therefrom and each having independent drive means for driving its drive shaft. The support members and the drive shafts are relatively oriented such that relative pivotal movement of the support members in a first direction moves the drive shafts, and cleaning elements such as wire brushes mounted thereon, toward each other and such that relative pivotal movement of the support members in a second direction moves the drive shafts, and cleaning elements mounted thereon, away from each other.

United States Patent [1 1 Larson June 19, W73

[54] PORTABLE CLEANING TOOL FOR 3,621,505 11/1971 Vocker m1. 15/23ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS [75] Inventor: Raymond Lee Larson, Erie, Pa.

[73] Assignee: General Electric Company, New

York, N.Y.

[22] Filed: May 5, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 250,722

[52] US. Cl. 15/23, 15/88 [51] Int. Cl A46b 13/02 [58] Field of Search15/23, 24, 39, 88,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,887,702 5/1959 Freitag15/23 3,447,177 6/1969 Williams et al. l5/23 3,534,422 l0/l970 Carpenter15/88 Primary ExaminerEdward L. Roberts Attorney Harold H. Green Jr..,George R. Powers, Frank L. Neuhauser et al.

[ ABSTRACT A portable cleaning tool for stripping an electricalconductor includes a pair of pivotably interconnected sup port memberseach having a drive shaft projecting therefrom and each havingindependent drive means for driving its drive shaft. The support membersand the drive shafts are relatively oriented such that relative pivotalmovement of the support members in a first direction moves the driveshafts, and cleaning elements such as wire brushes mounted thereon,toward each other and such that relative pivotal movement of the supportmembers in a second direction moves the drive shafts, and cleaningelements mounted thereon, away from each other.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates to a portable cleaning tool forremoving chemical insulation, oxidation and the like from electricalconductors and, more particularly, to a portable cleaning tool utilizinga pair of rotatably driven cleaning elements such as wire brushes inwhich the relative positions of the cleaning elements may be readilyadjusted throughout a relatively wide range during operation of thecleaning tool.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the manufacture and maintenance ofelectrical equipment such as motors and transformers, it is desirableand often essential that foreign matter or other non-conductivematerials be effectively removed from electrical leads. The electricalconductors from which chemical insulation, oxidation, and foreignmaterials such as dirt, paint and the like must be removed vary greatlyin cross-sectional area and shape, and the electrical components withwhich the leads are associated may also vary significantly in size andweight. For example, the electrical conductors encountered in amanufacturing environment typically have round, square and rectangularcross sections and cross-sectional dimensions ranging from as little asa few thousands of an inch to as much as /4 inch by 1 inch or evenlarger. The electrical components having the smaller conductors areusually relatively lightweight and easy to handle while the componentshaving the larger conductors are heavy and awkward to handle and move.

The common practice in electrical manufacturing is to use a pair ofrotating wire brushes or similar abrading elements to clean electricalconductors. Due to the weight and size of many electrical components, itis not always convenient or even possible to move the components tostationary cleaning equipment. For this reason, various portablecleaning tools have been used in the past for taking the rotatingcleaning elements to the conductors. The portable cleaning tools usedheretofore have been characterized by relatively complex drive systemsfor rotatably driving the cleaning elements while permitting a limitedrange of movement of the cleaning elements toward and away from eachother. It has been found in practice that the drive systems of theseprior art cleaning tools are often difficult to adjust and subject toexcessive wear. Furthermore, many of the prior art drive systems undulylimit the range of adjustment of the brushes or other cleaning elements,the result being that a typically wide range of conductors can not becleaned by a single portable tool or can be cleaned only with the makingof adjustments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention toprovide an improved portable cleaning tool for stripping chemicalinsulation, oxidation and the like from a broad range of electricalconductors.

Another object of this invention is to provide a portable cleaning toolthat has a simple drive system neither limiting nor complicatingmovement of the rotating cleaning elements toward or away from eachother.

A further object of this invention is to provide a portable cleaningtool for electrical conductors that is capable of cleaning withoutadjustment a broad range of conductor sizes and shapes.

Briefly stated, in carrying out the invention in one form, a portablecleaning tool for removing chemical insulation, oxidation and the likefrom electrical conductors includes a pair of support members pivotallyinterconnected for movement in a common plane, each of the supportmembers having a drive shaft projecting therefrom for rotatably drivinga cleaning element such as a wire brush. The drive shafts :areequidistant from the pivotal axis and are oriented such that thecleaning elements are moved toward one another for cleaning contact witha conductor when the support members are relatively pivoted in a firstdirection and away from each other when the support members arerelatively pivoted in a second direction. In accordance with theinvention, a first drive means is carried by a first one of the supportmembers and is directly coupled to the respective drive shaft fordriving it and a cleaning element mounted thereon in a selecteddirection of rotation. In second drive means is carried by the othersupport members, the second drive means being directly coupled to therespective drive shaft for rotatably driving it and its cleaning elementin a selected direction of rotation. The invention thus permits thecleaning elements to be driven independently of each other and independently of the relative pivotal positions of the support members. I

By a further aspect of the invention, the support members are relativelythin elongated members having dimensions in conjunction with theirinterconnecting means sufficiently small to permit an operator to graspthe tool by a single hand to pivot the support members about the pivotalaxis and thereby control the cleaning action of the rotating cleaningelements. By a still further aspect of the invention, the first andsecond drive means are preferably air motors disposed within the respective support members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS While the novel features of thisinvention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims, theinvention, both as to organization and content, will be betterunderstood and appreciated, along with other objects and featuresthereof, from the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cleaning tool;

FIG. 2 is a view in which the cleaning of a relatively small electricalconductor is illustrated;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 in which the cleaning tool is shownin an open position; and

FIG. 4 is a view taken along viewing line 44 of FIG. 3 of the supportcollars of the cleaning tool.

Referring now to the figures, a cleaning tool 10 is illustrated, thecleaning tool 10 including a pair of elongated, cylindrical supportmembers 12 and 14. The support member 12 has a first end 16 and a secondend 18, and the support member "14 has similar ends 20 and 22. The midsection of the support member 12 has a support collar 24 securedthereto, and the mid section of the support member 14 has a supportcollar 26 secured thereto. The support collars 24 and 26 haveinterdigitated tongue portions 28 and 30, respectively, which are boredout to receive a pin 32.

As illustrated by FIG. 4, the tongue portions 28 and 30 are orientedsuch that the longitudinal axes 34 and from the support the supportmember 14 on an axis parallel to the axes of the drive shaft 46 and thepin 32. As best illustraed by FIG. 2, the collars 24 and 26 arepositioned on the cylindrical support member 12 and 14 so that the driveshafts 42 and 46 are spaced from the axis of the pin 32 by an equaldistance d.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-4, the pin 32 and the mating bores in thetongue 28 and 30 are dimensioned such that the support members 12 and 14can be pivotted about the axis 40 to move the drive shafts 42 and 46toward and away from each other. In this respect, the pin 32 may besnugly engaged by all tongue portions 28 and 30 with the pivoting actionattained by overcoming friction, the pin 32 may be loosely received byone of the collars while snugly engaged by the other collar, or the pin32 may be loosely engaged by both collars and held in position by cotterpins or the like. In the illustrated embodiment, the pin 32 is snuglyengaged by both collars, but it will be obvious to those skilled in theart that other arrangements could be used for providing the desiredrelative pivotal movement of the two support members 12 and 14.

As shown by FIGS. 1-3, the drive shaft 42 has a cylindrical wire brush50 mounted thereon, and the drive shaft 46 has a similar wire brush 52mounted thereon.

In accordance with the present invention, suitable drive means arecarried by the support members 12 and 14 for rotatably driving therespective drive shafts 42 and their wire brushes 50 and 52 in selecteddirections of rotation. By having the drive means carried by the supportmember, it is possible to drive the associated wire brush independentlyof the relative positions of the support members and independently ofthe other brush. In the practice of the invention, it has been foundconve' nient to drive the brushes by air motors powered by compressedair supplied by conduits 56 and 58 leading to the support members 12 and14, respectively, manual switches 80 and 82 being provided forcontrolling the flow of compressed air to the air motors. Furthermore,it has been found convenient to utilize commercially available airmotors in which the outer casing of the air motor comprises the supportmember, the operative parts of the air motor being encased within thecylindrical support member.

In one embodiment of the invention in which the wire brushes 50 and 52have a diameter of 1.250 inches and a thickness of 1.250 inches, a pairof air motors obtained from Ingersall-Rand Company were used, one airmotor being a Model SLAlOlNJ and the other being a Model SLAlOlRJ. Airmotor Model SLAlOlNJ is a non-reversing drive, and air motor ModelSLAlOlRJ is a reversing drive. The significance of reversible andnon-reversible drives will become apparent as this description proceeds.

An important feature of this invention resides in the fact that thesupport members 12 and 14 and the interconnecting structure includingthe tongue portions 28 and 30 are sufficiently thin to permit anoperator to grasp the cleaning tool with a single hand to pivot thesupport members 12 and 14 about the pivotal axis 40. When grasped by anoperator, the support members 12 and 14 can be pivoted.to an openposition as illustrated by FIG. 3. In this position, the space D betweenthe brushes and 52 is sufficiently large to permit the insertiontherebetween of the largest conductor 60 which can reasonably beexpected to be encountered in practice. This maximum spacing D can, ofcourse, be adjusted by moving the collars 24 and 26 along the supportmembers 12 and 14, the spacing D being larger the nearer the collars areto the ends 18 and 22.

Once a conductor such as the conductor 60 is inserted between the wirebrushes 50 and 52, the operator depresses the switches 80 and 82 todrive the brushes and pivots the support members 12 and 13 to move therotating brushes into contact with the conductor to remove chemicalinsulation and the like therefrom. Alternatively, the switches 80 and 82may be locked in the on position, the operation being controlled by theoperator from a foot pedal or a similar valve arrangement. When cleaninga large conductor, the brushes 50 and 52 may not contact each other evenwhen in cleaning contact with the conductor. In this case, it isrelatively immaterial as to the relative directions in which the brushesrotate. However, when the tool is used to clean small conductors such asthe conductor 62 illustrated by FIG. 2, the brushes 50 and 52 invariablycome into mutual engagement. It is ex tremely desirable in such asituation that the peripheral surfaces of the brushes have about thesame velocity and travel in the same direction. It is for this reasonthat it is desirable that the drive means be capable of rotating thebrushes 50 and 52 in counter-rotational directions.

As illustrated by FIGS. 2 and 3, a tension spring is provided betweenthe support members 12 and 14 for biasing the two wire wheels 50 and 52toward each other and into contact with a conductor locatedtherebetween. An adjustable stop screw 72 is provided for limiting thedepth of engagement of the two wheels 50 and 52. This feature isparticularly useful if the cleaning tool is ever used with the twowheels rotating in the same rotational direction. While the samedirection of rotation would not normally be desired, it may be usedwhere it is desired to avoid the imposition of longitudinal tension onthe conductor by the cleaning tool.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention provides animproved, portable cleaning tool for stripping chemical insulation,oxidation and the like from electrical conductors. The cleaning tool iscapable of cleaning electrical conductors of an extremely wide range ofsizes and shapes without introducing drive system complexities orrequiring adjustments.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form, details, andapplication may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. For example, while air motors have been found to beparticularly effective for driving the wire brushes, air motors are notessential to the invention. Other drive means may be used so long asthey are directly coupled to the cleaning elements, are carried by thesupport members, and operate indepen dently of each other and therelative positioning of the support members. Similarly, cleaningelements other than wire brushes may be secured to the drive shafts; forexample, small grinding or polishing disks may be used. Accordingly, itis intended that all such modifications and changes be included withinthe scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and is desired to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

l. A portable cleaning tool for stripping an electrical conductor ofchemical insulation, oxidation and the like, said cleaning toolcomprising:

first and second support members,

a first drive shaft projecting from said first support member and asecond drive shaft projecting from said second support member,

means interconnecting said first and second support members for relativepivotal movement therebetween in a common plane about an axisequidistant from said first and second drive shafts, said first andsecond support members relatively oriented by said interconnecting meanssuch that cylindrical cleaning elements such as wire brushes mounted onsaid drive shafts are moved toward each other for cleaning contact witha conductor when said support members are relatively pivoted in a firstdirection and away from each other when said support members arerelatively pivoted in a second direction,

first drive means carried by said first support member and directlycoupled to said first drive shaft for rotatably driving said first driveshaft and a cleaning element mounted thereon in a selected direction ofrotation,

and second drive means carried by said second support member anddirectly coupled to said second drive shaft for rotatably driving saidsecond drive shaft and a cleaning element, mounted thereon in a selecteddirection of rotation,

- whereby said first and second drive shafts, and cleaning elementsmounted thereon, are driven independently of each other andindependently of the rela tive positions of said first and secondsupport members.

2. A portablecleaning tool as defined by claim 1 in which said first andsecond support members are relatively thin elongated members, thedimensions of said first and second support members and saidinterconnecting means being sufficiently small to permit an operator tograsp the tool by a single hand to pivot said first and second supportmembers about the pivotal axis.

3. A portable cleaning tool as defined by claim 1 in which said firstdrive means comprises a first air motor disposed within said firstsupport member and said second drive means comprises a second air motordisposed within said second support member, said first and second airmotors driving the respective first and second drive shafts incounterrotating directions.

4. A portable cleaning tool as defined by claim 1 in which said firstand second support members are relatively thin elongated members havinglongitudinal axes extending between first and second ends thereon, saidfirst and second drive shafts project from first ends of the respectivesupport members in a direction normal to the respective longitudinalaxes, and said interconnecting means is secured to the respectivesupport members intermediate the first and second ends thereof.

, 5. A portable cleaning tool as defined by claim 4 in which said firstdrive means comprises a first air motor disposed within said firstsupport member and said second drive means comprises a second air motordisposed within said second support member, said first and second airmotors driving the respective first and second drive shafts incounter-rotating directions.

6. A portable cleaning tool as defined by claim 5 in which thedimensions of said first and second support members and saidinterconnecting means are sufficiently small to permit an operator tograsp the tool by a single hand to pivot said first and second supportmembers about the pivotal axis.

7. A portable cleaning tool as defined by claim 4 further comprisingmeans interconnecting said first and second support members for biasingsaid first and second support members in the first pivotal direction soas to bias cleaning elements into contact with an electrical conductorplaced therebetween.

8. A portable cleaning tool as defined by claim 7 further comprisingstop means for engaging said first and second support members forlimiting relative movement of said first and second support members insaid first pivotal direction so as to maintain a predetermined 'minimumspacing between cleaning elements.

9. A portable cleaning tool as defined by claim 8 in which said firstdrive means comprises a first air motor disposed within said firstsupport member and said second drive means comprises a second air motordisposed within said second support member, said first and second airmotors driving the respective first and second drive shafts incounter-rotating directions.

10. A portable cleaning tool as defined by claim 9 in which thedimensions of said first and second support members and saidinterconnecting means are sufficiently small to permit an operator tograsp the tool by a single hand to pivot said first and second supportmembers about the pivotal axis.

1. A portable cleaning tool for stripping an electrical conductor ofchemical insulation, oxidation and the like, said cleaning toolcomprising: first and second support members, a first drive shaftprojecting from said first support member and a second drive shaftprojecting from said second support member, means interconnecting saidfirst and second support members for relative pivotal movementtherebetween in a common plane about an axis equi-distant from saidfirst and second drive shafts, said first and second support membersrelatively oriented by said interconnecting means such that cylindricalcleaning elements such as wire brushes mounted on said drive shafts aremoved toward each other for cleaning contact with a conductor when saidsupport members are relatively pivoted in a first direction and awayfrom each other when said support members are relatively pIvoted in asecond direction, first drive means carried by said first support memberand directly coupled to said first drive shaft for rotatably drivingsaid first drive shaft and a cleaning element mounted thereon in aselected direction of rotation, and second drive means carried by saidsecond support member and directly coupled to said second drive shaftfor rotatably driving said second drive shaft and a cleaning element,mounted thereon in a selected direction of rotation, whereby said firstand second drive shafts, and cleaning elements mounted thereon, aredriven independently of each other and independently of the relativepositions of said first and second support members.
 2. A portablecleaning tool as defined by claim 1 in which said first and secondsupport members are relatively thin elongated members, the dimensions ofsaid first and second support members and said interconnecting meansbeing sufficiently small to permit an operator to grasp the tool by asingle hand to pivot said first and second support members about thepivotal axis.
 3. A portable cleaning tool as defined by claim 1 in whichsaid first drive means comprises a first air motor disposed within saidfirst support member and said second drive means comprises a second airmotor disposed within said second support member, said first and secondair motors driving the respective first and second drive shafts incounterrotating directions.
 4. A portable cleaning tool as defined byclaim 1 in which said first and second support members are relativelythin elongated members having longitudinal axes extending between firstand second ends thereon, said first and second drive shafts project fromfirst ends of the respective support members in a direction normal tothe respective longitudinal axes, and said interconnecting means issecured to the respective support members intermediate the first andsecond ends thereof.
 5. A portable cleaning tool as defined by claim 4in which said first drive means comprises a first air motor disposedwithin said first support member and said second drive means comprises asecond air motor disposed within said second support member, said firstand second air motors driving the respective first and second driveshafts in counter-rotating directions.
 6. A portable cleaning tool asdefined by claim 5 in which the dimensions of said first and secondsupport members and said interconnecting means are sufficiently small topermit an operator to grasp the tool by a single hand to pivot saidfirst and second support members about the pivotal axis.
 7. A portablecleaning tool as defined by claim 4 further comprising meansinterconnecting said first and second support members for biasing saidfirst and second support members in the first pivotal direction so as tobias cleaning elements into contact with an electrical conductor placedtherebetween.
 8. A portable cleaning tool as defined by claim 7 furthercomprising stop means for engaging said first and second support membersfor limiting relative movement of said first and second support membersin said first pivotal direction so as to maintain a predeterminedminimum spacing between cleaning elements.
 9. A portable cleaning toolas defined by claim 8 in which said first drive means comprises a firstair motor disposed within said first support member and said seconddrive means comprises a second air motor disposed within said secondsupport member, said first and second air motors driving the respectivefirst and second drive shafts in counter-rotating directions.
 10. Aportable cleaning tool as defined by claim 9 in which the dimensions ofsaid first and second support members and said interconnecting means aresufficiently small to permit an operator to grasp the tool by a singlehand to pivot said first and second support members about the pivotalaxis.